Growing Apart
by Tears of Stardust
Summary: Sometimes it is better to just move on...


I've been told it's really sad, but then again that friend always cries so . . . yeah. My Escaflowne fiction!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the idea for my story  
  
**Van**  
  
A young man of about 20 stood outside on his balcony, gazing up at the distant Mystic Moon. It seemed to glimmer and shine; the very reflection of her eyes. When had he seen them last.? It was long ago.too long ago.  
  
He sighed and ran his hand through his short, black hair. Many things had changed since that time; some of the changes widespread, some not. Merle, for instance, had found another demi-cat and they were now dating steadily. Allen and Celena lived peacefully in a little house outside Asturia, Allen taking on a wife and staying faithful to her. Van . . . well, Van's had been the global change, or at least a change to his country. He tipped his head back and looked toward Mystic Moon.  
  
~~Hitomi~~  
  
Now a 20 year-old professional sprinter, Hitomi had travelled the world and then some; qualifying for the Olympics twice and winning the bronze medal for Japan the second time.  
  
She was currently on a hike with some of her friends; Yukari, Amano, Emile and Natsu. It was about midnight and Hitomi had left the group of little tents to go for a walk and see the forest at night.  
  
It was full of silent life; from the mice that stirred around her feet to the haunting owl that flew from branch to branch, looking for it's night-time feeding. The wind had picked up, and blew silently through her long, dirty blonde hair.  
  
She looked into the night sky and gazed at the stars, knowing that the one she wanted to talk to wasn't visible from anywhere on this planet.  
  
Still, she sat down in the long grasses of the outer rim of the woods, tipped her head toward the stars, and whispered: "Van, there's something I have to tell you . . ."  
  
**Van**  
  
" . . . I've found someone else." Van looked to the moon to see if Hitomi had heard his confession. If she had, it didn't change the rotation of the Mystic Moon, nor how brightly it gleamed.  
  
He sighed deeply, then looked toward the doorway to the balcony. His wife was asleep on their bed, her long brunette hair cascading over the pillows and her violet-coloured eyes closed in the ritual of sleep. A pale hand rested on the maroon blanket, and a small smile played across her pale lips.  
  
Van felt that funny feeling in his chest again, the same feeling he had when Hitomi had been here. But Hitomi . . . when he thought of her now, he realized that the same feeling was not there. He loved her as a friend, but nothing else. Not anymore.  
  
He had changed; most of the changes brought about by her, but still more were by leading his country, the reunited empire of Fanelia.  
  
"Hitomi, please, I ask that you not be angry . . ."  
  
~~Hitomi~~  
  
" . . . but rather you move onward." Hitomi strained her eyes trying to see the invisible planet, so close yet so far away. If only a winking of it's surface showed, she'd know he heard her and that he had understood. But nothing happened, the stars stayed on their same positions.  
  
And they would continue sitting, until long after Hitomi's time upon this earth had ended. Just like love. And, just like love, they would change, becoming something totally different and serving another purpose. Yet no matter what happened, they would always remain; pieces of an old star go and form into a newer one, correct? One that might shine brighter than the first . . .  
  
Hitomi thought of Natsu; his funny American looks and accent, and thought that was never a man she could love more deeply. He had proposed to her earlier this year, and they were going to get married the following spring.  
  
She felt that she may have betrayed Van, dishonoured him in one way or another, but then she had never felt it. He kept her pendant, and she had never felt him forsaking her. Not once. But the intense feelings brought about by a troubling youth had cooled, leaving a rock-solid man in their wake, with a temper that could rival the Dali Lama.  
  
"Van, I love you, but . . ."  
  
**Van**  
  
" . . . things have changed, we are no longer the people we once were." Van looked at the sky once more, then back at his beautiful wife, one he loved with all his heart.  
  
"Farewell Hitomi, seer from the Mystic Moon." Van walked back into his room, and closed the door softly behind him.  
  
~~Hitomi~~  
  
"We have to say farewell to the past. Not good-bye; good-bye means forever. But perhaps.so long." Hitomi turned and began to walk back toward her tent. Wherever Van was, she wished him well.  
  
~* Author's Notes *~ Now, I know that I'm probably going to receive some flames for writing this, but quite frankly, I don't care. Flame all you want, it won't do anything for your reputation. I wrote this because I'm sick of all the "Van and Hitomi are forever, nothing will change that" stories. Ok, so they're optimistic, but are they realistic? Not likely. Van and Hitomi were in love, but it was first love. First loves are beautiful and romantic when they last, but more often than not they don't. The people change and grow apart. Now, I'm not condoning changing; changing is quite a good thing as it keeps species alive, but everything changes, even love. Especially since Hitomi and Van were (possibly) thousands of kilometres away from each other. This story is not anti Van/Hitomi, rather pro change.  
  
Thank you for reading.  
  
~* Tears of Stardust *~ 


End file.
